Over half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve another vehicle. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the motorist and not the motorcyclist is at fault in the majority of incidents. Because of its small size, a motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car's blind spots (door/roof pillars) or masked by objects or backgrounds outside a car (bushes, fences, bridges, etc). Additionally, a motorcycle may look farther away than it is. Consequently, it may also be difficult for a motorist to judge a motorcycle's speed.
A common accident between a motorist and a motorcyclist occurs when the motorcyclist passes another vehicle (i.e., a car or truck). The technique for passing another vehicle is the same whether riding a motorcycle or driving a car. Before passing, the motorcyclist should be two (or more) seconds behind the vehicle it wants to pass and should typically be positioned in the left-hand side of the lane. From this position, the motorcyclist should check oncoming traffic and the road to make sure there is enough distance to pass safely. If there is room ahead to make the pass, the motorcyclist should look in the mirrors, turn the signal on, and always look over the shoulder. If everything is clear, the motorcyclist should move into the left lane and pass the car or truck. The motorcyclist should not crowd too close to the vehicle it is passing, but rather should be more or less in the center of the passing lane. Before returning to the original lane, the motorcyclist should signal an intention to return to the original lane in addition to doing a head check to make sure that there is enough room between the bike and the vehicle just passed.
While such cautionary measures are often followed, accidents do still occur. In some cases, the motorcyclist is in the motorist's blind spot or some other obstruction prevents the driver from adequately seeing the bike. In other cases, a turn signal is not used or, if used, the driver simply does not see the signal. For example, because of the position of turn signals on motorcycles, the signal may be in the motorist's blind spot.
Consequently, a device and/or method to assist motorcyclists in safely passing vehicles is/are desired.